Ayrton Oneill
In basketball, PER is an acronym for Player Efficiency Rating. It is a per-minute rating that evaluates a player's overall production and efficiency. The calculation takes into account various individual stats such as field goals, rebounds, and fouls, weighing them differently. A player with a high PER is considered more productive and impactful during a game. While PER is a widely used metric, it has limitations, such as its heavy emphasis on scoring and lack of consideration for defensive players' value.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Full Form | Player Efficiency Rating |
| Use | To determine the value of a player to the team |
| Calculation | The formula takes 12 different stats into account, including field goals, rebounds, and fouls. Each of these individual stats is weighed differently within this formula, meaning that some stats will be worth more than others. |
| Average Score | 15 |
| Good Score | 15 |
| Great Score | High 20s or 30s |
| Benefits | PER is a per-minute calculation, so it's not dependent on playing time. |
| Criticism | PER places too much importance on scoring and undervalues defensive players. |
Explore related products
What You'll Learn
Positive and negative results
The Player Efficiency Rating (PER) is a statistical metric in basketball that rates a player's overall impact on the game. It was created by sportswriter John Hollinger in the late 1990s. The formula for PER takes into account a range of positive and negative results to evaluate a player's performance.
Positive Results
The positive results that contribute to a player's PER include:
- Field goals
- Free throws
- Three-pointers
- Assists
- Rebounds
- Blocks
- Steals
These positive results are added together in the formula and weighted according to their importance. For example, field goals are considered to be the most valuable statistic in the formula.
Negative Results
The negative results that are subtracted from a player's PER include:
- Missed shots
- Turnovers
- Personal fouls
The inclusion of these negative results helps to provide a more comprehensive understanding of a player's performance. For example, while field goals are positive, missed field goals are negative, giving a more accurate picture of a player's shooting ability.
While PER is a widely used metric in basketball analytics, it has been criticised for its overemphasis on offensive performance. The formula places greater weight on scoring and offensive statistics, which can skew the ratings in favour of offensive players. Additionally, PER does not account for other important factors such as clutch scoring, leadership, and the team's pace.
Basketball Shoes: Low-Top Ankle Support Explained
You may want to see also
Explore related products
Calculating unadjusted PER
The Player Efficiency Rating (PER) is a per-minute rating developed by ESPN.com columnist John Hollinger. Hollinger's system uses a detailed formula to rate every player's statistical performance, boiling down all of a player's contributions into one number. The formula adds positive stats and subtracts negative ones through a statistical point value system.
PER takes into account positive results, including field goals, free throws, 3-pointers, assists, rebounds, blocks and steals, and negative results, including missed shots, turnovers and personal fouls. The rating for each player is then adjusted to a per-minute basis so that substitutes, for example, can be compared with starters in playing time debates.
All calculations begin with what is called unadjusted PER (uPER). After uPER is calculated, an adjustment must be made for the team's pace. The pace adjustment is made to uPER (referred to as aPER). The final step is to standardize aPER. First, calculate the league average aPER (lg_aPER) using player minutes played as weights. This sets the league average to 15 for all seasons.
PER is averaged over the length of a player's entire career, meaning a decrease in efficiency later in a player's career can cause them to move down in the rankings. For example, Jordan's PER took a big hit in the final two years of his career when he returned to the game with the Washington Wizards, posting 20.7 in his penultimate season and 19.3 in his final season, compared to his career-high of 31.7.
Adizia's Height: Basketball Wives Star's Tall Order
You may want to see also
Explore related products
PER's creator, John Hollinger
John Hollinger is the creator of the Player Efficiency Rating (PER) system, a comprehensive statistical rating for basketball players. The system aims to condense a player's performance into a single number, making it easier to compare players. Hollinger's formula takes into account a wide range of positive and negative statistics, including field goals, free throws, 3-pointers, assists, rebounds, blocks, steals, missed shots, turnovers, and personal fouls. Each of these individual stats is weighed differently, with field goals considered the most important and turnovers the least.
Hollinger's work was influenced by sabermetric baseball analysts, such as Bill James, who critiqued traditional counting statistics in baseball, like runs batted in and wins, arguing that they do not reliably indicate a player's value. Hollinger extended this critique to basketball, recognising that a player's opportunities to accumulate statistics depend on factors like playing time and the pace of the game. As a result, PER largely measures offensive performance, and Hollinger acknowledges that the defensive statistics it includes—blocks and steals—can distort a player's value and are not a reliable measure of defensive skill.
The PER formula strives to measure a player's per-minute performance, making it possible to compare substitutes with starters. A league-average PER is always set at 15.00, with higher scores indicating greater productivity and performance. A PER in the high 20s or 30s is considered exceptional.
While PER has its uses, it is not without limitations. Critics argue that it places too much emphasis on scoring, unduly rewards players with high contribution in limited minutes, and fails to capture more intangible aspects of the game, such as clutch scoring, leadership, and team pace. Additionally, defensive players may be undervalued compared to offensive players due to the weighting of offensive statistics in the formula.
Despite these criticisms, Hollinger's PER system has endured and is still referenced in basketball analytics. Hollinger himself is aware of its limitations, considering it a "shorthand for very rough player value."
Get Started as a Basketball Referee
You may want to see also
Explore related products
PER in fantasy basketball
Fantasy basketball is a game in which players draft a team of NBA players who then score fantasy points according to set scoring rules. There are a variety of ways to organize a fantasy basketball league, and managers must employ different strategies when making their selections. One such strategy is to use analytics, which are a key component in decision-making for NBA franchises. One of the most important analytics tools is the Player Efficiency Rating, or PER.
PER is a single-number valuation of a player using an amalgamation of box-score stats, such as 3-pointers, assists, rebounds, blocks, and steals. This statistic gives an overall sense of how good a player may be, but it does not offer insight into how that value is attained. The actual calculation of PER can be confusing as it takes into account stats and percentages from many different areas. In total, 12 different stats are considered, including field goals, rebounds, and fouls. Each of these individual stats is weighed differently, with some worth more than others. For example, field goals are worth the most, while turnovers are worth the least. The weight of these stats was determined by John Hollinger, based on his beliefs about the essential stats in basketball.
While PER is one of the most comprehensive stats for basketball analytics, it is not without its flaws. One downside is that, like any mathematical formula, there is little room left for more human considerations such as clutch scoring, leadership, and the team’s pace. Some also argue that PER places too much importance on scoring, as defensive measures do not carry as much weight in the calculation. This means that defensive players will have a lower PER than offensive players, despite their importance to the team. Another issue is that PER does not take into account the number of minutes played, which can skew the numbers in favor of players with a high usage rate.
Despite these criticisms, PER can be a useful tool for fantasy basketball players. It provides a quick and easy-to-read number that gives an overall sense of a player's value. This can be especially helpful when trying to compare a large number of players, as is often the case in fantasy basketball drafts. Additionally, PER takes into account many different stats, providing a more comprehensive view of a player's impact on the game than simply looking at individual stats such as steals or assists.
Drift Footwork: Badminton's Secret Weapon
You may want to see also
PER compared to other metrics
Player Efficiency Rating (PER) is a metric used in basketball to evaluate a player's performance. It was created by John Hollinger in the late 1990s/early 2000s and is considered one of the most popular and mainstream NBA advanced stats. The formula for calculating PER is quite complicated, taking into account various positive and negative statistics and normalising them to a league average of 15. This allows for easy comparison of players across different teams and eras.
While PER is a widely used metric, it has its limitations and critics. One of the main criticisms is that it places too much emphasis on scoring and offensive performance, with defensive measures carrying less weight in the calculation. This results in defensive players having lower PERs than offensive players, which may not accurately reflect their value to the team. Additionally, PER does not consider factors such as clutch scoring, leadership, and team pace, which are important aspects of a player's contribution.
Another criticism of PER is that it may favour players with a high usage rate, as the per-minute bias can skew the numbers in their favour. High-volume shooters can also be rewarded if they shoot above a certain percentage, and the inclusion of fouls as a negative factor may not accurately reflect the impact of giving up an easy field goal.
Despite these criticisms, PER remains a valuable tool for evaluating players, especially in fantasy basketball where individual stats are the primary focus. It provides a quick and easy way to identify players who consistently fill the stat sheet. Additionally, with a league-average PER of 15, it is easy to identify "great" players, who typically have ratings in the high 20s or 30s.
While PER has its limitations, it is still a widely used and recognised metric in the NBA. However, it is important to consider other metrics and factors when evaluating a player's performance to get a comprehensive understanding of their impact on the court.
Shaq's Basketball Practice: A Lifetime of Dedication
You may want to see also
